I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coffee brewer and, in particular, to a one-cup coffee brewer of the drip type.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, numerous types of drip coffee makers have been developed, many of which are particularly adapted for brewing a single cup of coffee. Examples of one-cup coffee brewers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,215,060 and 1,412,388. West German Pat. No. 1,057,760 and Italian Pat. No. 598,677 disclose additional variations of one-cup coffee brewers. Of related interest are patents which deal with various apparatuses that are similar in function or employ connecting features which are relevant to applicant's invention. These include British Pat. No. 9943 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,567,183 and 3,118,562.
Many of the devices disclosed in the aforementioned patents have several shortcomings, including complexity of design, which result in difficult usage as well as being expensive to manufacture. They include the insertion of a charge of coffee in the cavity of the receptacle at the bottom of the water reservoir. This makes it difficult to judge the amount of coffee therein and creates numerous cleaning problems with such prior art apparatuses. One attempt to correct these problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,060. This patent discloses a one-cup coffee maker wherein a cup-shaped receptacle of a size to receive a charge of finely ground coffee is illustrated as having finely perforated bottom apertures and is adapted to fit freely upwardly into a cylindrically shaped socket provided in the lower end of a reservoir which, in turn, includes a support flange that supports the coffee maker on the cup adapted to receive the brewed coffee. While this patent represents the closest relevant prior art of which applicants are aware, it does not disclose those features which applicants have claimed as their invention.
III. Prior Art Statement
In the opinion of applicants and applicants' attorney the aforementioned patents represent the closest relevant prior art of which applicants and applicants' attorney are aware.